Adamantine Arrow
There are weapons that bring death, and weapons that grant life. The Adamantine Arrow embraces both. Every order practices essential occult defense techniques, but the Arrow goes further, internalizing the metaphor of war. It is the order’s political stance and occult praxis. For some, it’s a hard, ascetic path that burns away cowardice and encourages action over contemplation. Others see the order as the perfect platform to lead the Awakened’s secret battles, selling services to the highest bidder or even seizing Demesnes away from the weak. Above all, the Adamantine Arrow acts. Members are not given to purposeless cloistering, navelgazing meditation or weak pacifism. They know the Awakened are in the midst of an esoteric war, and bring a strong hand to bear for the right side. But there’s the question: Which side is the right side? Once, the Arrow protected Atlantis against all threats, internal and external. They were called the Ungula Draconis, the Talon of the Dragon. None could deny that this was righteous work, because it kept the flame of human power alive in an age rife with conquering monsters and renegade witches. When it came to Atlantis, there was no doubt and no compromise, even if the hinterlands suffered raids and ruins for its Awakened glory. In time the ideal turned to warmongering and conquest. A mere soldier in the gleaming streets of the city could become a god in the wilderness. And if there, why not in the heavens? Arrogance led to the Fall, and the Fall led to the Exile. Atlantis fragmented and the Adamantine Arrow guarded the shards. The Arrow has always claimed to be above politics, devoted to the pure duty of defending the secrets of magic from its defilers. Now, however, doubt and opposition wrack the old orders. Every time an Arrow mage chooses a side, she shapes the political arena. It’s little wonder that such mages often grow impatient with mere guardianship and strive to seize power for themselves. Overview An Arrow is a warrior first, but this isn’t as narrow a calling as many suspect. For every frontline fighter who rends the horrors of the Abyss with bare hands and soul, there’s a strategist who sees and manipulates the secret, struggling patterns of the world. Economic, ecological and more esoteric conflicts are studied, mastered and beaten into any shape an Arrow desires. Mages see reality as a many-layered thing, full of signs and movements invisible to the uninitiated. The Awakened art of war follows these patterns using a thousand techniques. The Adamantine Arrow is assured of its roots in Atlantis, but it does not claim any particular historical event as its own. Instead, it champions the common virtues of warriors from many cultures. An Arrow might insist that these virtues are the spiritual radiance of the order’s legacy after the Exile, a torch burning to guide soldiers of all ages away from petty violence to a common ethic of justice. If this is true, though, it poses a contradiction, for the order carries within it the capacity for atrocity, rule by junta and a thirst for violent, self-justifying power. Like the occult art of war, this flaw can manifest in endless varieties, making it hard to detect and check. The Adamantine Arrow recognizes the essential problem, but is not always sure whether a particular action upholds its ideals or sins. Warriorship is never its own virtue. Only righteous service gives an Arrow’s life meaning. After the Fall, the order defended other mages from the new dangers of the Fallen World and swore oaths of loyalty. Today, this is still the Adamantine Arrow’s primary role. Its mages defend Demesnes, sanctums and cabals as long as they are legitimate heirs to Atlantis. Some Arrows purportedly guard evil things that cannot (or because of some cruel fate, must not) be banished from the world. When Arrows assume power, they claim to follow their ethos in spirit. Sometimes a threat arises that requires martial leadership. Sometimes an Arrow’s charges are morally or mystically weak, and she feels the best way to uphold her oath is to take command. But while the Adamantine Arrow is respected, it cannot guarantee that its members are virtuous souls. Power, not prudence, motivates many members to take up the mantle of rule. Members The Adamantine Arrow attracts a large number of young mages — impulsive, confident men and women who believe their Arcana automatically confer martial wisdom. These petitioners are quickly disabused of such notions. An Arrow trains to endure much and live simply. Arrow mentors dangle the secrets of battle magic before their eyes, only to deny teachings until a student has humbled himself with hard work, ascetic discipline or a tortuous quest. Some masters are incredibly harsh, and leave protégés with physical and psychic scars. Some never graduate beyond the petitioning stage, but in most cases mentors are loathe to let one of the Awakened waste her life. The best teachers create warriordiplomats who can handle etiquette and bloody combat with equal confidence. The worst teachers turn out emotionally stunted guardians whose awkward, taciturn nature might be mistaken for quiet wisdom. And some candidates don’t need to be tempered. These are the natural tacticians and athletes that Arrow elders seek to train and — importantly — rein in before they can endanger others. The Adamantine Arrow doesn’t give these young mages a choice in the matter. While they learn battle spells easily enough and can fit their mind to a strategy with fluid ease, they need to be taught honor, discretion and a sense of responsibility for the rest of the Awakened. The order mourns when it fails to indoctrinate these initiates. It brings shame to kill them, and their names are not spoken again. Old mages tend to join the order in response to a crisis, or out of a sense of outrage. The Arrow gives them the tools to avenge themselves or to right a wrong. Ideally, the order only accepts vengeanceseekers who can learn to broaden their perspective and see that all of the Awakened deserve help. Philosophy The Adamantine Arrow practices what it calls the Brilliant Road or the Adamant Way. The Atlantean name had no precise translation and meant both “unyielding wisdom” and “light of thunder.” The Adamant Way is divided into five precepts — the Hand. The human hand creates, communicates and destroys. It is always meeting, negotiating with and vanquishing the external world, and is one of the primary gates for the sense of touch. Accordingly, its five “fingers” represent the ideal ways for a warrior to conduct herself in the Fallen World. They are: Existence Is War All beings learn wisdom by first separating themselves from the unity of things, and then by separating the unity of what remains. Only by examining what has been broken can a mage understand its original wholeness. If she remained in original bliss, the unity of all things would be felt in much the same way a cell is connected to a greater colony of tissue: like a machine, without true understanding. Life is more than suffering: it is a continual test of will and creativity. In this scheme, even the Exarchs have their place. They separated the Supernal from the Fallen and created the ultimate test. Even though the Arrow honors lost Atlantis, the sundered cosmos gives it the opportunity to test itself beyond anything the lost city could provide. Practically speaking, an Arrow should be able to use any fighting method as an allegorical solution to a nonviolent problem, and any peaceful technique to win a war. Enlightenment Is Honor Mages know that everything has an esoteric meaning, so meaning alone cannot be a sign of wisdom. True enlightenment is the ability to create meaning as well as reflect it. Oaths are how an Arrow connects to the wider world, turning its lessons into unbreakable bonds of honor. An oath rewrites a mage’s identity into something larger than herself. When she promises to protect a companion, she shares the meaning of her vow with her charge and her enemies alike. Oaths should never be broken, but they shouldn’t be too narrow, either, lest a warrior place her judgment in formal words rather than in dynamic thoughts. Adaptability Is Strength An Arrow should never rely on magic alone, or pure power of any kind. If she uses magic, physical strength or cutting words habitually to prevail, she cleaves to one way of doing things and denies the lessons afforded by new tactics. Pragmatically, an enemy can pick up a warrior’s habits and use them against her. Sympathetic magic is the root of many martial spells. Unless she sheds thoughtless habits, a mage will make herself vulnerable. While it’s easiest to see the problems inherent in relying on magic (or one kind of magic) too much, the order also charges members with examining their mundane lives. Is a mage overly fond of material luxuries? Prideful speech? If so, she should correct herself. Some Arrows turn to ascetic living, but others careen from practice to The Adamantine Arrowpractice, ready to change their dress, manners and even names to ward off complacency. The Supernal Is the Self There’s a reason only humans become mages. A human being is, in essence, no different from the cosmos. The body, mind and soul form a microcosm of a larger reality. Physical discipline is more than a matter of muscle and bone; it’s a way to explore occult reality, which lies embedded in the flesh just as Atlantean wisdom can be found in the Fallen World. The mind’s hidden depths and brilliant heights recall the Supernal World. Service Is Mastery Over the ages the Adamantine Arrow learned that the obvious ruler is rarely the true master of an occult hierarchy. Similarly, Sleeping governments rely on a web of hidden actors. It’s obvious then that power comes from action, not passive contemplation or meaningless structure. A state or secret society benefits from its figurehead, who is the focal point of the group’s ideals and the face of its hidden power. An Arrow should never seek power for herself, because she would only be promoted to an ineffectual, symbolic post. Instead, she serves a cabal as advisor and guardian. The ruler represents an ideal that the mage should strive to obey, even if the actual person doesn’t always live up to it. In times of crisis, an Arrow may be the effective leader, but her actions should always be in service to that ideal rule, which is forever outside her dominion. Rituals and Observances The Adamantine Arrow values efficiency, so it integrates its rites into the practical aspects of training and exercising the warrior’s art. Oaths An Arrow is rarely without an oath to some person, cabal or ideal. An apprentice’s first oath is to his teacher; he’s expected to obey any order, no matter how ludicrous or dangerous. By putting himself at the mercy of a master, a mage is forced to strive beyond self-imposed limitations. After that, an Arrow finds his place in Awakened society by vowing to serve a person, organization or cause. Arrow mages’ oaths are loose enough to allow plenty of room for interpretation and almost never require them to obey an order to the letter. Instead, the warrior promises to serve and the recipient of the pledge trusts him to make best use of his expertise. Order of Challenges Even though the Adamantine Arrow’s mages are famous for their dueling skills, they restrict challenges within their own ranks. Martial wisdom is hard to acquire, but all one has to do to lose it is die. The order prefers to avoid wasting its skilled members on pointless duels. Traditionally, a challenger must defeat an Arrow’s subordinates before being permitted to duel him. This hierarchy of justice (or revenge) keeps bad luck from destroying a lifetime of accumulated wisdom and discourages internecine assassination under the pretext of a duel. This rule does not apply to challengers from outside the order. Those, an Arrow must face alone, if at all. Titles and Duties The Adamantine Arrow respects two relationships: student and teacher, and commander and subordinate. Within Arrow cabals these associations are normally one and the same, but outside of them the latter is determined by the nature of an Arrow’s oaths, whether he’s liege or vassal. Teachers and students do not have official names, but go by the vernacular of mages’ common language. Banner Warden The appointed defender of a mixed cabal or the secondmost senior member of an Arrow cabal takes this title as the symbol of her group’s martial virtues. A Banner Warden considers it her prerogative to represent the cabal in any magical duel and to organize the group’s defenses. This leaves her superiors safe to refine their rule, or (in the case of superiors within the order) to further develop the mystic arts of war. Adamant Sage War leaders and chief tacticians are given the title of Adamant Sage. In these fallen days the title is rare, since modern mages rarely fight in large groups. Adamant Sage is more often the unofficial leader of a Consilium or large cabal. Her title is technically that of a military advisor, but her guidance is the de facto rule of law. Category:Orders